Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-12-24

your city, but New York is packed with
wretched imps of misery, thrust into the very
bowels of despair, because they must tickle
their palates and exasperate their viscera with
alcoholic stimulants.
What a nice thing this rum must bel
know it must be, by the fruit it bears. Re-
Gently, according 10 all the morning papers,
Roundsman Burns, of the Twentieth pre-
cinct heard a chorus of crying children in
the attic of 29O Tenth avenue, and, mount
ing the stairs, found Sarah, Catharine and
Joseph Bennett, aged respectively five and
three years, and three months, almost per-
ished with cold, without food and in a very
dirty condition. On inquiry of the neigh
bors he was informed that their mother had
left home on a spree in: the morning. The
children were taken to the station-house, and
then to police headquarters, where they
were warmed and fed. The mother finished
her spree last night and took the children
home.
Isn't it nice?
/ can imagine Mr.. Joseph Bennet, the baby
of the aforesaid crowd, as he gayly welcomed
the coming of Roundsman Burns, and in
his tri-monthly tones demanded food.
That Mrs. Bennett is treasure to human
ity, and an ornament to her sex. Bless her
motherly buttons it doesn't take her a
whole month to worry through spree.
Some people would have Kept it up and up
till all was blue, but Bennet's no such
woman. She has heart in her breast, she
has. Said she to herself as she arranged
Joe's clothes about six in the morning. gave
Kate (aged three) crust, and told Sarah
! f..- E,rnA D. l..
Catch me leavn' me chlder for the cup.
No, indeed. l will be afther few sups of
the rale stuff and jine the choild again by
dark"
And she meant it.
l don't doubt Bennet's intentions were
strictly honorable. for she only had two dol
lars when she left the garnet. and that
wouldn't go far in gin.
think l can understand the motherly in
stinct of that woman to dot. Those chill
der, said she, cant be burned by falling
into the fire, for there amt no fire." There
spoke the truest forethought 81 won't
stop" said she, ito cook steak, for Joseph
prefers fresh milk; Kate is teething, and the
other one will be busy minding the brats."
She was careful for Joe's little stomach. She
knew, for she was a mother, that steak
would be too hard for a three-months-old
baby to digest. She wouldn't trouble Kate
to chew such stringy stuff and experience
probably told her-although this is pure
imagination-that Sally was always better
with a comparatively empty stomach
Off she went.
Of course, she walked to the nearest gin
mill and took her tod.
Then she took another.
Then her friend Joined her and they
treated each other.
Then they resolved to make a day of it,
and in a highly genial manner they did so.
| know it is none of my business.
But the deuce. of it is have three-year-
old Kate of my own, and can easily imag-
inc five year-old Sally and (but this is diff
cult) three-months-old Joe, and l confess the
charity of my vision was more or less OBJ
scured when | read this record, and l thought
of the possibility of its being my Kate instead
of Bennet's Kate who had that dismally
dreary experience in a cold garnet with no
fire, no food, no mother and bad time gen.
orally
You might have married that woman.
So might l.
Suppose we had.
Suppose we had and she had kindly in
sisted upon ginning it, and spreeing it, and
leaving our infants to such fate as garrets
cold and Roundsman Burns?
And back of all this are those Internal
sinks of corruption, where men sell whiskey
and rotgut to half-dressed women, who swill
the vile stuff down until the little semblance
they had of decency is lost in shame.
can't seem to get over that thyee-months'
Joe.
Why, just think. That little cuss has
twenty hours of absolute freedom to creep
and cry, and tumble and roll, just where
and how he pleased.
Why, hasn'tth the murderer who was hanged
on Friday, according to all the papers, gone
to meet his God?' And how could he do
that if his soul was not immortal?
Twas so glad to learn that he died Chris
tan" and "ascended at once to glory" 1
don't know if the reporter knew precisely
what he was writing about, or where glory
is, but he really was so positive about it,
that infer he perhaps had some assurance
from above. There is lots of cant in this
world, and l am trying to think, after some
months of experience, that our religious
friends who publish trade journals of pietic
tendency had their full share. They virtu-
ally say, "All these other men are humbugs
and sinners. We are the men for pious dol
lars. Come to us. This is your true gospel
shop. Only cent copy. Take me home.
Let the other fellows alone. They are vile,
but we are holy. They sell you sin and
trash and telegraph news for two cents,
while we furnish scriptural conundrums and
extracts from the Bible for one cent"
Queer world, isn't it?
Can you better itP If so. do so.
HOWARD